A. Bauer & Co. v. Siegert

• Citation: 120 F. 81
• Decision Date: 09 January 1903
• Docket Number: 891.
• Parties: A. BAUER & CO. v. SIEGERT et al.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

120 F. 81

A. BAUER & CO. v. SIEGERT et al.

No. 891.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

January 9, 1903

Wm. M Copeland, for appellee.

In the year 1824 Dr. Johannes G. B. Siegert, a physician and ex-surgeon general of the army of the republic of Venezuela and the father of the appellees, and then resident of the town of Angostura, on the Orinoco river, in the republic of Venezuela, established a business in the preparation and sale of certain bitters originally named 'Aromatic Bitters,' but for a long time known to commerce as 'Angostura Bitters.' The business was continued by him during his lifetime. In 1864 he took his son Carlos, one of the appellees, into partnership, continuing the business under the same name until the year 1867, when the firm name was changed to 'Dr. J. G. B. Siegert &amp Hijos. ' In the year 1846 the name of the town Angostura was changed by decree of state to that of Ciudad Bolivar since which time the name 'Angostura,' as the name of a town, has officially ceased to exist, and gradually, as matter of fact, has ceased to be used. The business continued to be carried on by Dr. Siegert and his son Carlos at Ciudad Bolivar until the death of the father at that place in the year 1870. The firm, however, had done their shipping through the firm of Gerold & Ulrich from Port of Spain, in the island of Trinidad. Carlos D. Siegert, the surviving partner continued the business under the old firm name at Ciudad Bolivar until the year 1872, when his brother, Alfredo C. Siegert, was admitted to the partnership, and the firm name was changed to Dr. J. G. B. Siegert & Hijos. They continued the business, and in 1875 removed their factory to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where the business has since been, and is now, conducted. In 1876 Luis B. C. Siegert, a brother, was admitted to the firm, which has since been, and is now, constituted of the three brothers. These bitters are compounded according to a secret formula known only to the Siegert family, and are sold in every continent; the sales in the United States being in amount between 10,000 and 15,000 cases a year. One thousand to 1,500 cases are sold annually in the state of Illinois, of which Chicago consumes from 500 to 1,000 cases. The name 'Angostura' was first applied by the public to these bitters from the name of the town at which they were made. This name was accepted by Dr. Siegert in the year 1830, and employed by him and his successors as the distinctive name for the bitters. It has been printed on the labels and used upon business cards and stationery and in advertising the goods, and was registered in the patent office at Washington as a trade-mark or trade-name on the 14th day of June, 1881, upon application filed May 21, 1881. The bitters are put up in glass bottles of two sizes,-- whole and half bottles. These are of a peculiar form, and of a dark greenish tint, with the name 'Dr. J. G. B. Siegert & Hijos' blown in the shoulder and neck and also in the bottom of the bottles. Around the neck of the bottle since the year 1884, upon goods imported into the United States, is a label in the similitude of a revenue stamp of the United States theretofore existing, with rounded corners, about 2 3/4 inches long and 1 1/8 inches wide, in the middle of which is a stamp-shaped cut or figure in yellow, having in its center a representation of the head and bust of Dr. J. G. B. Siegert, surrounded by an oval border, upon which are arranged the words: 'Angostura Bitters. Dr. J. G. B. Siegert. ' About the border are arranged scrolls, upon one of which is printed the figures '1830,' and upon the other is printed the words 'The Only Genuine.' A plain oblong border incloses the picture described. On either side of the picture are arranged two concentric circles, on one of which is inscribed the words 'J. W. Wupperman, New York, Sole Agent of,' and upon the other the words 'Dr. J. G. B. Siegert & Sons, Port of Spain, Trinidad, B.W.I.' The label upon the body of the bottle is about 10 3/8 inches long and 6 1/8 inches wide, upon which is printed in black ink, in the English, German, French, and Spanish languages, a description of the properties and qualities of the bitters, with the trade-name 'Angostura Bitters,' and a fac-simile signature of Dr. J. G. B. Siegert printed lengthwise between the obverse and reverse sides of a medal,--one at the top and one at the bottom,-- on an oblong white strip, about 1 inch wide, running vertically from the middle of the top of the label to the narrow strip of printing in French, 1 1/4 inches wide, and extending entirely across the bottom of the label, which inscription in French, when the label is pasted upon the bottle, is folded entirely around and over the bottom of the bottle and can only be...